Today, the consumers have access to many types of digital devices, for example: smart phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, etc. The common methods of interacting with these digital systems are through various means, such as a keyboard, a touch screen, audio and video, etc. The digital devices can be used for generating various documents some of which can include shorthand notations, such as short message service (SMS).
The usual input technique into the digital systems is via manually typing keys on a keyboard or on a touch screen corresponding to letters, characters, numbers, symbols, etc. An alternative way of input is to use a stylus to actually write on a touch screen. Another new and popular method of communication with the digital systems is using voice recognition software. More recently, camera and sensor systems built on the digital devices are able to track movements of the user in real time as user input signals to the systems.
Even though all the above-mentioned techniques for user input for digital devices are relatively straight forward and user friendly, they all require constant physical interaction between the user and the device. These systems also are not adapted to utilize the user's natural way of life to acquire, store, retrieve, edit and transmit information in a non-invasive way. Rather, these techniques require the user to interact directly with the smart phone. In short, there is a pressing need for an input method that would work in the background in concert with and without modifying the user's natural habits, especially taking into count the small screen size on smart phones and the inconvenience of actually writing on the screen.
For example, it is more common and natural for a user to record information on a piece of paper using a pen or a pencil. Usually the user re-inputs such information into a digital system at a later time so that it doesn't get lost or for subsequent communication with other systems or users. This method of input to the digital system is not in real time, is time consuming, and it is likely the information will be lost. There is a need for a new input method, which in real time will capture information, created by the user in any form, and would allow storage, transmission and editing for future purposes.
In order to address this need, there are already products/concepts available in the market place. Livescribe Pulse™ is a smart pen that records the data written on a special paper using a camera and then saves the information on the internal memory of the pen. The information is retrieved by connecting the pen to a laptop, which means that the transmission of information is not done in real time. There are two other pens in the market, namely Zpen Digital Pen™ and the Yifang Smart Pen™. Both these pens need an external receiver to collect the written data, which is subsequently downloaded to a laptop. Moreover, in the case of Yifang smart pen the user can write only on the computer display screen. There is also a smart pen concept developed at Apple Corporation, which uses an accelerometer to detect and collect written information. The Apple concept pen is capable of writing on any substrate. One of the major disadvantages of the Apple concept pen is that the use of accelerometer prevents its miniaturization, eventually leading to higher cost.
All the above mentioned techniques are used to input data into digital systems (mainly laptops). But none of the products currently available in the market is designed to work in the background in concert with smart phones. In other words, it is not convenient to write with a pen (stylus) on a touch screen smart phone.